Remote assistance of a computer involves a software application or a feature of the computer's operating system where the computer's desktop environment is at least allowed to be viewed remotely on a separate client device where a remote user can provide technical support. Remote assistance may also involve, at least to a limited degree, remotely controlling the client's desktop by attaching to the client's session.
Remote desktop control or remote access to a computer involves a software application or a feature of the computer's operating system where the computer's desktop environment can be fully controlled remotely without any local user present at the computer.
Remote assistance and/or control of a computer with an operating system where each of its application programs is respectively run in its own sandbox (i.e. wherein each application program is restricted from accessing any storage or memory used by any other program) proves to be challenging as a result of these application programs running in such a restricted operating system environment. In this kind of operating system, each application program is restricted in its access to, for example, data, files and network resources. As each application program exists in its own sandbox, the sandbox directory acts as a home for the application program and its data. Consequently, the ability of a software application to function as a remote assistance or remote access tool is not possible because of the limited ability of the software application to see the data or state of another application.
An operating system where the application programs are run in a sandboxed manner is, for example, Apple™'s iOS, run on such devices as the Apple iPad or iPhone®. This means that users of iPad and iPhone computing devices cannot effectively be helped by remote assistance like users of computers that have more flexible operating systems, like Apple Computer OSX and Microsoft Windows® computers. iPad users must seek help by physically finding a person able to help who can interact with the iPad in the presence of the users. The benefits of remote assistance are significant in that assistance can be provided by family members who do not live with the person needing assistance, or can be provided by professionals without the users needing to visit the professionals. There are over 300 million iPad computers sold in the period of 2010 to 2016. Furthermore, remote access to such devices is likewise not currently possible.